re: Baton Rouge Red Light Cameras Approved for 5 More Years(Posted by LSUengr on 10/10/13 at 10:00 am to GeauxTigerTM)

quote:I know this has been addressed before, but if safety was the real reason for these things, other means would be tried before cameras. How about...and I'm just spit-balling here...not having one light turn green instantaneously as the crossing light turn red? Why not leave a second or two and then turn the light allowing a straggler or two to make it through safely? After all, the reason for lights, stop signs, and basically all traffic signals in the first place is to allow drivers to essentially govern themselves safely without having to have a police man standing at every intersection directing traffic. Why? Because if no drivers ever ran a light and were ticketed for it, what would the city do without that money?

Traffic signals do have a delay between the red and the green cycles. It is called "All-Red time". Varies between 1.5-3 seconds depending on the intersection. People still run lights and cause accidents with this in place.

However, the cameras are still a money grab and should be done away with.

re: Baton Rouge Red Light Cameras Approved for 5 More Years(Posted by LoyalTiger on 10/10/13 at 10:03 am to Bullfrog)

quote:You either work for the city or the red light camera company. You argue from a bureaucrat POV.

Neither. But I don't get why that's a bureaucrat POV. To me bureaucracy is more government. This is less. Less officers writing tickets, less officers spending all day in traffic court, private company managing process...less government involvement. Because we all now government running processes/operations are much more efficient....right?

re: Baton Rouge Red Light Cameras Approved for 5 More Years(Posted by Catman88 on 10/10/13 at 10:11 am to LSUengr)

quote:Traffic signals do have a delay between the red and the green cycles. It is called "All-Red time". Varies between 1.5-3 seconds depending on the intersection. People still run lights and cause accidents with this in place.

I have seen a handful of lights where this is done and FAR FAR more that are instant green.

re: Baton Rouge Red Light Cameras Approved for 5 More Years(Posted by gorillacoco on 10/10/13 at 10:12 am to LoyalTiger)

quote:LoyalTiger

The fact is that there are enough laws (traffic and other) on the books to write citations for peopole every day for any number of violations. It is impossible in a practical sense to know and follow every law on the books, and your posts are insinuating that every time someone breaks the smallest of laws, they should willingly accept the legal consequences without a complaint. However, you are failing to realize that we do not live in some computer program with black and white rules for everything. The laws are made for people (and by people) and are inherently flawed in that strict rules written in some book cannot adequately govern all of the situations that citizens get into every day. Let's also not forget that at some point slavery was legal, women could not vote, cars had no speed limit, etc, etc, etc. These were all changed because they were WRONG, unethical, and unfair. And before these laws were changed, the people in the US had to get pissed, violate the laws, complain about it, stir up public opinion, and finally get the laws changed. And they weren't wrong for doing so. Actually quite the contrary.

People feel that the red light cameras are unjust because they are more expensive and time consuming to fight than the violation deserves. Not to mention the state does not have to expend much effort at all to issue these tickets & therefore has very little to lose and much to gain by approving these. It is a conflict of interest as they receive money for essentially doing nothing. If a police officer takes the time to pull you over and write you a ticket there is some expectation (and I think a fair one) that the police officer is enforcing laws that are being violated to the degree that they are affecting public safety. Whatever your opinion on this is, most people feel that this is unjust, and frankly this is a major determining factor in which laws are adopted, as they are to a large degree otherwise arbitrary. I'm sure others could expound much more on this as to why being issued a ticket by a camera company is somehow 'not right' versus being given one by a police officer.

But in answer to your statement that "if you broke the law, you should just pony up the cash": if you think that all laws should just be followed without question, and that if it is on the books it is by nature a just law, you are an idiot.

re: Baton Rouge Red Light Cameras Approved for 5 More Years(Posted by GeauxTigerTM on 10/10/13 at 11:36 am to LSUengr)

quote:Traffic signals do have a delay between the red and the green cycles. It is called "All-Red time". Varies between 1.5-3 seconds depending on the intersection. People still run lights and cause accidents with this in place.

Understood...though, and this is only my anecdotal testimony, there are several intersections in Lafayette in and around the area I referenced where there is absolutely not 1.5 seconds between the time one light turns red and the opposing light turns green. And let's not even start about 3 seconds. As far as this goes, my point is that accidents with injuries are usually not where one last car went through the light when it was "orange" and an unsuspecting car came through the light. It's usually some asshat who ran it VERY VERY late, or mid freakin cycle because they were drunk. The vast majority of camera tickets are for infractions that, despite them technically being illegal, would normally pose no harm.

quote:It's usually some asshat who ran it VERY VERY late, or mid freakin cycle because they were drunk. The vast majority of camera tickets are for infractions that, despite them technically being illegal, would normally pose no harm.

quote:I'm going to hop back in this thread...the red light tickets in Lafayette are 25$.

This brings up another question. If you get pulled over by an officer and given a ticket for running a red light, how much is that fine? Is it the same as the red light camera? If it is, then at least there's that. If not, why not...same law, right? My guess is they are significantly cheaper in an effort to try and get people to actually pay them without a fight.